School Days – 02

OP: 「イノセントブルー」 (Innocent Blue) by DeviceHighWatch the OP!Mirror 1, Mirror 2
I like the way the opening song starts out and the first few lines of lyrics (reminds me of something I can’t quite put my finger on), but the rest of the song wasn’t that great. The OP also seems to suggest that there’ll be plenty of fanservice, and it made me wonder if this counts as nudity or not (in terms of censoring). There was also a new ending this week, 「愛のカケラ」 (Ai no Kakera) by Hashimoto Miyuki, but I didn’t bother capping it since it was virtually the same ending animation sequence as last week. I did like this song a lot more than CooRie’s ED though, and I wonder if there’s gonna be a new ending song for every episode.

Summary:

As Kotonoha arrives for a date with Makoto, she catches him reading an instructional manual on love. Makoto takes her to several places around town, but with each place they go to, he doesn’t pay enough attention to her: he’s reading erotic magazines at the bookstore, getting too involved with games at the arcade, and gets a plate full of cake while Kotonoha is still reading the menu at a cafe. He even tries to kiss Kotonoha when it’s time to go home, but the doors to the train close on him before he can. At school the next day, Sekai yells at Makoto for being an idiot for leaving Kotonoha behind in whatever he did. As for the kiss between them from before, she claims that it was like a greeting and that they’re only friends. She then presents him with movie theater tickets so that he can take Kotonoha on another date, and she suggests that if things go well, he’ll get a kiss. There are three films playing when Makoto and Kotonoha arrive at the theater, including a zombie movie and a love story. Kotonoha actually wants to see the zombie movie, but Makoto assumes that she wants to see the love story, so that’s what they go to.

As she watches the film, Kotonoha notes that the three characters in the story are like herself, Makoto, and Sekai. Makoto, however, feels that she’s cuter than the character she’s comparing herself to, and the love scene in the movie gets him thinking about a kiss again. Remembering what Sekai had said about Kotonoha only being embarrassed and how she’s waiting for him to make a move, Makoto grabs her hand and tries to kiss her. This earns him a slap, and the rest of the date thus becomes awkward. When Makoto later tries to explain how Sekai had been the one who gave him the tickets, Kotonoha comments on how well Makoto and Sekai get along, which Makoto attributes to her sitting next to him in class. On the way back home, Kotonoha apologizes shortly before running off the train at her stop.

The following day, Makoto doesn’t understand why things happened that way since he did what Sekai said, so Sekai calls him an idiot once more. She says it again when she finds out that he’s been using an instructional manual on love, and she advises him to apologize and make up with Kotonoha. After class, Makoto catches Kotonoha and tries to make up with her, saying that he wants to know her better. She runs off to her committee meeting without replying to him, so he yells that he’ll be waiting for her at the train station. Later that evening, as Kotonoha is leaving school after finishing with her activities, she runs into Sekai who points out that she’s going the wrong direction to go to the train station. Kotonoha claims that she feels like taking the bus today, but Sekai knows that the reason is because Makoto is waiting at the train station. Sekai thinks that Makoto will wait there for a long time because he’s an idiot, which causes Kotonoha to tell her not to call him an idiot. Kotonoha feels that Makoto is just a little too aggressive, and seeing Kotonoha act like this, Sekai smiles and suggests that it’s because they’re both idiots.

Kotonoha then admits to being afraid of guys and recalls how she had been teased and bullied for her figure. Though that has nothing to do directly with Makoto, Kotonoha still feels uneasy. Because of this, Sekai reveals how Makoto wants to treasure Kotonoha, but she thinks that unrequited feelings like those won’t always continue. She questions if Kotonoha has considered how Makoto’s feels and suggests that boyfriends and girlfriends share their feelings. Sekai also thinks that Makoto has been controlling himself given how ecchi his thoughts usually are, and she uses the chance to grab and massage Kotonoha’s breasts. Afterwards, Kotonoha surprises Sekai by bringing up how well Sekai understands Makoto and saying that she’s envious. Like Makoto, Sekai claims that it’s because they sit next to each other in class, so they spend a lot of time together. Kotonoha does eventually head to the train station and finds Makoto still waiting there for her. After he swears not to do anything more that she hates, Kotonoha apologizes and declares that she wants to come to understand him better. Saying that she’ll do her best, Kotonoha proceeds to kiss him.

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Well if I didn’t hate Makoto after last week’s episode, I certainly hate him now. The guy does some of the stupidest things on his dates with Kotonoha, and I’m starting to understand why he’s considered “< a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_Days_%28game%29" target="_blank">one of the most pathetic adult game protagonists ever.” Heck, I was cheering for him to get slapped for how idiotically aggressive he was acting, and thankfully he did eventually get it. I said last week that I had been rooting for Sekai, and although I still am, I don’t think Makoto deserves how much she does for him. If it wasn’t for Sekai, Makoto and Kotonoha wouldn’t even be having a relationship. Still, it might be too early to completely condemn the guy, but he’s certainly not doing himself any favors right now. Hopefully next week’s episode will be less frustrating to watch and will begin focusing more on the conflicting feelings of the two girls since it seems pretty clear that Sekai likes Makoto too.

haha well the way makoto acted in the date scene here could be a very accurate adaptation or a wayyyy exaggerated one depending on the choices you made during the date scene ingame. he is definitely capable of being very annoying, IF you want him to be. ;)

that said, i dont know if this was only a mistake on the production staff’s part or if they’re actually TRYING to get viewers to hate makoto… if its the latter than i wouldnt get my hopes up for one of the happy ends.

He goes on a date, blows it, goes on another one, blows it also by trying to kiss her in a HORROR (Dumb ass, you don’t take a girl to a horror movie on a first date…). Next day he tries to apologize. She avoids him. He asks to meet her at the train station, she eventually does a long time after. She says she wants to know more about his feelings. He kisses her… The other girl watches from a distance though.

@Lulu: Your right. I should have watched that episode with more care instead of playing solitare instead. XD
Atleast we see Sekai aired in this episode, where she tells Kotonoha to think about how Makoto feels. Otherwise besides that & her giving him those tickets she didn’t play a big role

when does the bloody stuff happen, when does the bloody stuff happen ,WHEN DOES THE BLOODY STUFF HAPPEN!!!!!! whats that?. . . oh. .at the end you say? how many episodes is this series? that many huh? hmmmmmmmmmmmm oh well

@AloneinVoid: “makes you wonder on why all males are portrayed as pitiful lame bastards in these kind of shows….”

I keep wondering the same thing. I mean, seriously, no man can be that pathetic in real life. That’s why I do not watch such shows as a rule. If you are wondering what am I doing then, checking out this blog post…well…I don’t know myself. Perhaps it is some subconscious masochistic desire on my part…why knows.

And anyway, why do you guys(I am asking just the men) like watching such shows, which make men seem like pathetic losers? I just don’t get it.

@Darklord: I personally don’t enjoy watching these type of shows. And, now thanks to blogs and anime forums, I can easily avoid them. All the male char. are constantly pathetic losers and have no actual sense of reality at all in these shows. What pisses me off even more is that they constantly whine and cry through the entire season, then they get three seconds of heroism in the last episode and, suddenly, we’re expected to forgive their past idiocy and accept the fact that the girls really do love him for what he is: a completely undependable, still sucking on mommy’s tits, coward.

Also, I’ve grown to actually have a strong dislike towards anime with high school center characters and themes. I don’t really know what the world’s fascination in thinking that life ends and begins in high school, but it’s a total sham. All my real bumps and rides down the lane of love happened to me after high school in college. All my crazy adventures with my friends (the ones that are worth being turned into a late night sitcom show), happened to me after high school. Hell, I’ve actually dated MORE high school girls after high school than I did while I was in high school.

I personally don’t enjoy watching these type of shows. And, now thanks to blogs and anime forums, I can easily avoid them. All the male char. are constantly pathetic losers and have no actual sense of reality at all in these shows. What pisses me off even more is that they constantly whine and cry through the entire season, then they get three seconds of heroism in the last episode and, suddenly, we’re expected to forgive their past idiocy and accept the fact that the girls really do love him for what he is: a completely undependable, still sucking on mommy’s tits, coward.

I really don’t think I could’ve described the 95% of the harem leads any better.

Maybe the reason that these kinds of shows have those kinds of stereotypical male leads is that *most* successful males probably don’t start drawing anime/manga once they’re in a successful relationship. I could be wrong though… I have no numbers to back up my speculation.

Alternatively, maybe they’re trying to connect with the audience that buys this sort of content… >.> Although I hate to think what kind of (mental, physical, emotional) state that audience is supposed to be in.

Another theory is that someone out there has developed a “guys are stupid” prejudice/stereotype/illusion/whatever and people are simply using that to develop their characters. (I have yet to hear a girl say that guys in general are “intelligent”.)

I more wonder why girls (if any) watch this sort of show — in my opinion, loyalty should only be given by girls to those who deserve it… whereas guys need to be more loyal in general. (However, cultural differences need to be accounted for within that statement.) Where is the entertainment aspect? Is it the hyperbole (extreme exaggeration)?

I thought the first episode was worth a passing glance, at least. I’m not so sure about this second one, though… and since I’m squeamish, I don’t want to stick around if we are headed into a bad end.

Amendment to last post: As a closing thought — just because I am a coward doesn’t mean I want to see somebody animating a coward becoming “successful”. If others do, then by all means… although I will still always wonder about shows like this. I think the characters’ appearances are quite nice, but the story… leaves me speechless (and not in a good way).

“I personally don’t enjoy watching these type of shows. And, now thanks to blogs and anime forums, I can easily avoid them. All the male char. are constantly pathetic losers and have no actual sense of reality at all in these shows. What pisses me off even more is that they constantly whine and cry through the entire season, then they get three seconds of heroism in the last episode and, suddenly, we’re expected to forgive their past idiocy and accept the fact that the girls really do love him for what he is: a completely undependable, still sucking on mommy’s tits, coward.”

It seems to be a working formula, coz harem shows still get a following. I’m sure they didn’t make these shows with YOU in mind. Truth to say, you’re part of a minority, and you ain’t even Japanese ;)

This formula sucks, to me as a westerner anyway, but it provokes a reaction. If sucky shows didn’t exist, how can we tell the really good ones apart? Would be boring to watch several shows with the dramatic/intellectual/thought-provoking quality of, say, code geass, gurenn lagann, etc… It’s because of shows like the ones being blogged by several people that we recognize the gems.

On the other hand, it’s a matter of taste. There are GOOD harem shows, even ones with pathetic male leads. KimiNozo, for example, has one of the worst male leads in anime history but yet it is part of most people’s top 10 greatest anime lists…

I’ve been waiting for this show to become an anime coz it seemed to have an interesting twist, so I am sticking with this one until it finishes :)

As for most harem shows being based on high school times, can I get an opinion from someone who GREW UP in Japan on whether their most memorable moments were in high school, college, or beyond? Coz I keep getting opinions from westerners who know almost nothing about life in Japan, and it’s really getting a bit annoying :)

I grew up in Asia, and high school was the most memorable time for me, as it shaped how I am now… Again, it’s target audience… and I am sure the ones who created the game/anime were thinking about us gaijin when they plotted it – the same way I know that most of our “teen comedies” are as unfunny to them…

Looks like they’re going for Kotonoha route but i never actually opened all the ending so i don’t know whether one Sekai’s good ending is in this route or not. Any idea? All i know is Otome’s ending is in thereand one of the bloody ending is in too.

Actually, I am Japanese (well, 1/2, but Korean is just as good), though I did grow up in the States. I’m currently living in Japan at the moment (Okinawa, just a stone throw, a skip, and a bus ride to Camp Foster) and I’m an english tutor at a local school. I may not have grown up Japanese and I may be an ignorant foreigner judging another country’s culture, but I believe I’ve been exposed to it enough to make a dependable opinion. And who says that high school isn’t a memorable time in any one of our lives. I loved my high school days and sometimes wish I can go back to them. My case was this: Life goes on after high school and gets even more interesting, if you choose not to limit your own life experiences.

And no, it’s not because it’s targeted for an ‘Asian’ or Japanese audience, it’s targeted for the mass Otaku fanbase. Many of them are nearly just as pathetic as their harem anime male counterparts, if not more so. I enjoy taking my girlfriends through the Hentai Manga section at a local book store just to watch these losers scurry about like roaches when you turn the lights on at night and drop whatever H-book they were drooling over. So agreeably, yes, it is for a target audience. However, what gets to me is the the message I seem to pick up from many of these anime that is sent out to the Otaku guys and the many children who watches it. Mainly, it tells them: Males of the world, you can be weak, insecure, hesitant, unchanging, cowardly, undependable, let the world run right over you, and women will still flock to your side in packs.

I do agree that not all harem anime/manga are horrible. For instance, I love Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima. But there’s one HUGE difference that I believe both Negi and Keitaro possessed that makes them stand out from many of the rest: They were willing to change themselves or better themselves for their own sake, so that those they care for can depend/rely on them. The Keitaro at the end of Love Hina is completely different from the Keitaro at the beginning of Love Hina. Keitaro didn’t possessed the semi-bishie looks that’re handed to many harem male, but I can see why girls would actually be attracted to him towards the latter half of the series. The current Negi has obviously grown and mature since he was first introduced at the beginning of the series. With most other harem males, there is no character development at all. It’s the same loser at the beginning and the same one standing at the end, being glorified as god’s gift to women.

Well from my point of view, School Days would show to the viewers how pathetic Makoto is… Maybe later on it would be changed the most hated protagonist character ever… Pity that the heroines would suffer because of him.

since this anime got 3 ova’s to be released later after the episode 13 finished.

The 3 ova’s would probably represent the last 2 bad endings and the good ending be the last of the OVA part since the episode 13 would be like the one’s the fans anticipating a bloody ending. Higarashi no naku style ^_^

Everyone keeps talking about the 3 bad endings, but you’re forgetting that the good endings heavilly outweight the bad ones. It’s got something like 10-15 or maybe more Good endings. And the majority of the good endings are between him and Kotonoha. If they take it to the max then maybe we’ll get one of the bad endings. But at this point I think it’ll still have one of the good ones. Just going with the #s at this point.

When I played the game, I did everything I could to focus only on Kotonoha- And the idiot still almost blows it at the end. Apparently, the game tries to *ship* Makoto with Sekai- It’s very, very difficult to get a ‘wholesome’ ending for Kotonoha. He’s too much of a f$%#%ing wuss to be worth playing…

I really shouldn’t have read up on this on wiki. I either hate or feel very sorry for a character. I hope Makoto and Daisuke die, really. I wouldn’t even mind if they die a really gruesome and painful death.

>>”Anyways, most of the bad ending cant bo shown because A, too violent, and B, the action leading up to the bad endings are not proper to be shown to this anime.”

If they’re willing to show nipples in the OP, then they’re probably willing to show sex and blood. Assuming that, I’d like to see the Makoto stabby ending or the Kotonoha slicey ending. Both are good ways to knock some sense into Makoto, who really does seem like the worst protagonist that harem anime has to offer. Plus, watching someone as shy and moe as Kotonoha become psychotic would certainly be entertaining.

Also, Yuuichi from Kanon is probably the best of the harem anime protagonists, when you consider how he interacted and cared for each of the harem girls. I would have preferred a Nayuki ending instead, though.

to everybody wondering why most of us are so sure its gonna be a bad end:

like Hagiri mentioned, the way makoto acted in this ep is like choosing the all the wrong choices in the game.
and what do you get when you make choices in a game? bad ends :P

there are plenty of cases in the game in which makoto is a lot more likable, but the staff chose to animate the bad choices instead. so they’re purposely trying to make the viewers get used to looking down on makoto, that way there’ll be a more positive response when sekai goes all stabby on him XD.
whereas if they were going for a good end, they would be trying to make makoto as likable as possible so that people would actually want him to have a good end.

“1) why does Sekai have an interest in the male protagonist (he doesn’t deserve to be named)?”

She’s crazy…case in point with the bad endings.

“2) why does Kotonoha have an interest in him?”

C’mon, she’s a physically weak and attention starved high school girl, who doesn’t seem to have very many friends. Have you ever flirt with a fat chick at a party? They’re an easy laid because they’re starve for any kind of attention!

“3) if Sekia developed a crush on that male character, why did she bring Kotonoha and Sekai together?”

I’d have to say that Makoto made just about every mistake a guy can make on a date. But so far you could still chalk it up to him being dumb and inexperienced. So until he starts acting like an indecisive loser I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, as I haven’t played the game. He did chose the romance flick instead of the horror one (Yuicchi failed that one, I’m afraid) though he gets an F for conduct all around.

Depending on how long the show is I can see Makoto letting himself get bounced around between Sekai and Kotonoha… hopefully the other girls will stay out of the equation or else it will further complicate matters, but I think the series is being promoted as a love triangle and not a harem, so there shouldn’t be much danger there.

As it stands now the ending could go either way, though my bet is he’ll come around to Sekai in the end.

I was expecting Sekai and Itou to become weird about the kiss, but it seems he believed that friends story >.>

I think it’d been more interesting if he had realized Sekai’s feelings then, and went into having a hard time figuring which girl he really liked while dating Katsura, in front of a “watching closely in pain” Saionji which he has this tension with every time they run into, as they pretend to be normal around each other, aware of what’s happened between them, but I guess that’s what the rest of the series is for, it’s just that, after having kissed him so early on, it feels stupid of Sekai to keep cheering for him to grow closer to Katsura like she does…

C’mon, she’s a physically weak and attention starved high school girl, who doesn’t seem to have very many friends. Have you ever flirt with a fat chick at a party? They’re an easy laid because they’re starve for any kind of attention!

A good looking girl like her should’ve had guys approach her already.

It really makes no sense for her to pick the worst of the worst, lol. That’s just not how women work.

Now the question here is; what will happen next? We have 12 episodes, ten more to go. If everything goes as planned, Makoto first will date Kotonoha, then with Sekai and finally have to take a decision of witch girl he really loves. Or maybe they can pick one of the bad ends of the game and… well, you know what happens.